Hold Back
by fuckbitchesgethousepoints
Summary: Blaine and Rachel have to go find Kurt before anything bad happens to him. Blachel


"Come on! He's gotta be this way!" Rachel screamed over the noise. She pulled Blaine through the clotted web of protesters. His head was whipping in every direction in search of his friend.

Everyone was yelling, though you couldn't really hear what they were saying. Signs were being held and pinned up everywhere. A little ways away, the crowd had circled around a man who was burning an American flag with a Chanel symbol spray painted on it.

Another kid, about Kurt's height but with electric blonde hair, was being beaten up by a man with a golden cross around his neck. He was screaming, screaming _so loud_. Blaine winced as the kid's head was beginning to bleed. The poor guy fell to the ground and tried to kick the man back with his failing limbs. The man was strong but Blaine was being pushed around again and tightened his grip on Rachel's hand

"We're not gonna find him!" He yelled back when she jumped back. She had nearly been hit by a piece of cement.

"YES WE ARE!" She screeched, her eyes red and muddled with tears. She had seen the blonde kid too. People continued to bump and shove the couple around. Fists were going up in the air and colliding with peoples' faces.

Rachel pressed herself against Blaine, desperately searching. She knew she should've never left Kurt alone. He had come into the Glee Club much cheerier than usual. It turned out, through bribing and some investigating, Kurt was going to go participate in a Pro-Gay protest downtown. It was to go against a community of several churches that had been giving some gays a hard time. When Rachel had asked if it was linked to the LGBT, Kurt had replied that Karofsky had told him about it. That was who he was going with.

Now Rachel was stuck in the middle of his frenzy. The only person she knew, or recognized, was Blaine. But even now, she was scared that he was going to be pushed down or taken away.

Rachel had tried so hard to get Kurt to not go. It wasn't going to be some peaceful protest where everyone sat around. No, everyone here was hell bent on revenge, whether they knew what they were avenging or not.

Kurt told her he was 'doing this for equality' and you have to 'fight for everything you want'. Bullshit. If you're gonna fight don't use your fists, or fire, or knives. Kurt was doing this because all this pent up anger (and Karofsky's too) about being bullied needed to released somewhere. Rachel highly doubted Kurt's parents could pay for a proper session of therapy.

"Please, we have to get somewhere safe!" Blaine looked down at her. A kid running around with a can of spray paint darted past them, leaving black streaks on their shirts.

Rachel made the move to rip off her shoe to throw at him, "Hey-!"

"No!" Blaine pulled her into his chest, "We have to go before the riot police get here! After that, we'll never find him! Everyone's gonna be running! They'll have tear gas! They might even open fire! We HAVE TO GO!"

Blaine watched as a transvestite ran past them in a ripped dress, a bloody lip, and smeared make up. "Free martinis!" She called out, swinging a broken bottle.

"You've been to one of these, these types of protests before, haven't you?" Rachel mumbled. She looked up at him, "Haven't you?" She demanded.

Blaine didn't meet her gaze, "Yes. None of my friends died but we were wickedly wasted during the entire thing. We got out of a jail stint because we had to spend a couple of weeks in the hospital. That's why we have to leave; we can come back when this all dies down."

"Are you crazy?" Rachel's teary eyes turned into furious ones. "He could be anywhere! He's with _Dave_, yeah, remember him? Both kids have serious issues! For all we know, they're hurt or-"

"-hurting others." Blaine stopped her, "Kurt never accepted my bi-ness! You know that, I know that!"

"Well I'm not gonna go hide down some rabbit hole while he's running around with Karofsky!" Rachel pushed herself away from Blaine, "You can go have fun sitting in a café drinking your precious lattes!"

"Fine! Let's go!" He held Rachel's hand again and they forced themselves through the ground.

"Hey hot-ass!" A girl shouted at Rachel

"Brunny! Why you dressed like some librarian? You dressed like a catholic!" A man in a hockey jersey threatingly raised his crowbar

"Yummy…" Another kid, this time one with a cheetah hairstreak and thick bands of eyeliner, made the move to grab Blaine by the shoulder. Rachel yelled at him to stop.

Another man broke in between them dressed in a nun's costume. The nun's costume was spattered with all kinds of different colors of paint.

"Look!" Blaine pointed to a patch by the guy's hip, "Blood…" His whisper made Rachel shiver.

"KURT! KURRRTTT!" Rachel started screaming, "KURRTT ELIZABETH HUMMELLL!"

"KURRTTTTT!" Blaine joined in, cupping his hands for volume, "KURRTTT! DAVEEE! DAVIDDD KAROFSKYYY!"

"EEEEKKK!" A girl with pink hair pushed past them, clutching a bleeding side. "Help! Someone help me!" She collapsed, revealing a broken nose and two cuts on her cheek. The same guy with the jersey helped her up. Rachel and Blaine exchanged equal looks of horror. They started yelling louder.

"Let! Us! Pray! Let! Us! Pray!" A chant began further up ahead, on the other side of the group of rioters. People were raising burning signs. A Bible was thrown up in the air and shot out. It exploded in a fury of pages. Windows lining the shops across the street were being broken and pillaged. The church everyone had gathered in had a trashed lawn, charred grass. It seemed, Rachel hoped, empty. The locked gates were (so far) keeping everyone out. But it didn't stop them from throwing things.

"He's probably there!" Blaine declared, pulling his girlfriend towards the clump of signs. A mailbox near them exploded. Some kids holding lighters and cigarettes were cheering manically.

"Let's go!" They pushed everyone out of the way as fast as they could. For a moment, Rachel felt someone pull on hair, a piece of gum had hit her skirt. She stepped in a pile of ash. Blaine was hit with some paint, glue, and a handful of confetti. They were both messes.

Rachel was still howling for Kurt and Dave over the chanting and the yelling. She was crying, Blaine noticed. But part of him wanted to cry too. And he never cried.

"The cops!" Someone in Abercrombie shouted and a girl screamed. Everyone started pushing against Blaine and Rachel.

"No!" She cried and Blaine moved in front of her.

"Let's go!" He threw a man in an afro to the side. They were very close to the crowd of picket signs.

"Oh my god," Rachel breathed as she saw the thick line of riot police marching at them. They were donned in black with those plastic panels in front of them. Just like in the movies.

"Tear gas!" Blaine shouted when he realized there was something spraying down on the crowd. Shrieking made his ears throb but he painfully closed his eyes, leading Rachel.

"We're close!" She replied and the spray stopped hitting them. They had targeted another part of the crowd.

Blaine made an effort to open his eyes. Rachel's face was slightly flushed but her eyes were red. Her lips looked dry and chapped. Both were sweating buckets. Hot messes, really.

But then the picketers were running towards them. Rachel screamed and threw herself against Blaine. He held her close as they thundered past. Signs smacked them and Blaine thought he felt a blade knick his sleeve.

Blaine realized, when he lifted his head, that they had been separated from the pack. Everyone else was running down the large avenue. They stood in the middle of scattered glass, burned cloth, smeared tubes of lipstick.

The line of riot police were marching towards them like zombie armies. It was silent on their side.

"KURRRTT!" Rachel screeched before anyone could stop her. Suddenly she started running at the police.

There was a bang. "NO! RACHEL!" Blaine heard himself shout. He ran forward to stop her but instead he caught her as she crumpled like a bird struck down by a stone.

"Rachel?" He breathed as he fell to his knees, cradling her close.

"B-Blaine, I-I saw Kurt…" Rachel rasped, smiling, "He ran past us and he-he went into one of the stores…" She touched a spot near her stomach that was blooming with scarlet, "He was alright…Blaine…we did it," She continued to grin though pain briefly flickered through her eyes.

"It's not okay, Rachel," Blaine felt a tear fall, "You're not okay," He held her close. Her tiny hand reached up and touched his shirt.

"Don't worry about me, Blaine, just don't," She murmured, tears of her own sliding down her cheeks on glittering tracks. "Don't you remember that song, Blaine…" Rachel closed her eyes, "_Don't worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing is gonna be alright_…" She giggled softly but it broke into a wince.

"Rachel! I'll get you a doctor, I'll call a doctor, you'll be just fine…" Blaine dug frantically in his pockets. He just had to save her.

"No, no, don't do that," Her hand touching his cheek stopped him, "Go to New York without me, bring Kurt with you, and Finn. He doesn't believe in himself, but I know he can make it. I can't say the same about me," Rachel gave him a sad smile.

"But I can't just leave you here," Blaine choked, one of his tears falling on Rachel's forehead.

"Yes you can. Take care of Kurt, please, and tell the Glee Club that they were the greatest friends I have ever, ever had," Rachel pushed a lock of hair out of his face, "No autographed Barbra Streisand poster could ever change that.

Blaine laughed weakly, resting his face against her palm, "What about me? Am I worth more than an autographed Barbra Streisand?"

"I love you, Blaine," Rachel gave him a look of total seriousness. Their eyes met just like they had at the first party they had ever kissed at a game of spin the bottle. That kiss had had no connection but the second one, after their first date, had changed everything. They were going to tell the tale of how they met to their children, grandchildren. They would've toured the world together and lived their lives with all the passion lovers lived. Her hand fell back on her wound to staunch the flow.

"I love you too, Rachel," Blaine croaked. He gently lowered her down to the ground. He planted a steady kiss on her dry lips. She kissed back, though with barely any strength. Her hands drifted into his hair. It was clear by the shaking between them that they were both crying.

They both kissed for a few moments until Rachel let out a gentle moan. Blaine pulled away to see her eyes frozen blissfully closed. Her face had turned sickly pale with her purplish swollen lips. Her hands dropped away. Their was still dirt on their clothing and a sequin had gotten into her hair. Blaine wailed and held her close.

Kurt Hummel and Dave Karofsky stood next the music store they had escaped into. Both of them were holding battered rainbow colored signs. They exchanged looks, at a loss for words. They ran towards them waving wildly. Blaine didn't look up. A faint wail of sirens could be heard as the rain started to pour.


End file.
